Big News!

So we are ready to go public with our news!

It is official! We are adopting! This time around we are adopting sisters, 12 year-old E. and 15 year-old F. We are so excited!

We have known E. since I met her 2 years ago. Chris met both girls when he went to pick up E.R. exactly a year ago this week.

SO MUCH prayer, discussion, sleepless nights, fear, hope, and joy have been part of the journey to this decision. We have worried we weren't the right family for them, and whether they would be happy with us -- and everything in between. Last week we sent our official paperwork to accept the girls' referral. A couple of days later we got an email from our agency describing the girls' reaction to being told. It absolutely melted away any lingering doubts about whether this was the right thing to do.

The girls are so excited. F. was getting older, and starting to worry about what her future might hold if adoption wasn't her plan. They can both be at peace now, knowing they will stay together. They are also excited about being adopted by a family that they know. With our agency, that isn't so rare, but in the world of international adoption, it is extremely rare, so this is pretty special for all of us.

I don't plan to blog much about the girls' stories. They are theirs to tell, when they choose to. I will share a bit about our process, and probably quite a bit about our adjustment as a family. We are hoping for a smooth adoption process, but have no control over that!

So today is the 1 year anniversary of E.R. meeting some of our family in Ethiopia. To celebrate, we sent the girls' welcome bags in the mail today. We hope they love them. Two years is a long time to watch the kids around you getting families and going home.

Chris and I had our first kid 10 years ago. She was 16, and lived with us for six months. We had so much to learn back then. I'll never forget sitting outside her vice-principal's office, 25 years old, waiting to see if I could get my daughter back in school after a suspension...

So a decade later, we re-enter adolescence and high school, and everything that goes with it. We are older, more seasoned and wise this time around. And the girls will be part of our family forever!

So if you pray: the girls need prayer as they adjust to this massive change in their lives. They just found out they will move to Oregon, USA. They will be the oldest in our family. Their longing for a family is now turning into the acceptance of a REAL family, faults and all. They will enter the U.S. educational system with the experience of being at the top of their classes in Ethiopia - their report cards are truly amazing. We know that language and cultural differences will affect that experience to some degree.

So we are excited in anticipation of a court date hopefully this summer. We know this is a leap to some, but we hope you will celebrate with us!

It is a good week.